Rangers vs Manchester United, 2003/04 UEFA Champions League, 2003 First Phase

· UEFA Champions League

Rangers

FT
0 - 1

Manchester United

5': Phil Neville

About

Rangers are hosting Manchester United at Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland, starting on . The match is a part of the UEFA Champions League.

Match Commentary

0': It's the big one as Fergie returns to Ibrox. All the action from the Battle of Britain - here from 19.45 GMT
0': The Rangers side for the evening: Rangers: Klos, Khizanishvili, Berg, Moore, Ball, Ricksen, Arteta, Vanoli, Lovenkrands, Arveladze, Mols. Subs: McGregor, Emerson, Nerlinger, Ostenstad, Capucho, Ross, Hughes.
0': And the Man Utd line up: Howard, Gary Neville, Ferdinand, Silvestre, O'Shea, Phil Neville, Keane, Scholes, Fortune, van Nistelrooy, Giggs. Subs: Carroll, Ronaldo, Butt, Bellion, Djemba-Djemba, Forlan, Fletcher.
0': It is a cracking atmosphere inside Ibrox, with the partisan Gers fans making one hell of a noise!
0': Swedish referee Anders Frisk gets the match underway
0': And John O'Shea is booked after 30 seconds - a late tackle and rightly he's yellow carded
1': Another freekick, this time Roy Keane flying in - no card this time but it already spicey! Did we expect anythign else?!!
1': Phil Neville and Ryan Giggs nearly carve an opening but the final ball is beyond Ruud van Nistelrooy
2': A huge cheers as Gary Neville loes control of the ball and it goes out of play!
3': Mols and Arteta link up well, but O'Shea cuts out the final ball
4': A stormy start, freekick to Rangers after a full-blooded tackle by Giggs
4': Phil Neville scores!!!
5': Fed by Van Nistelrooy he latched onto the return ball after a great run through the heart of the Rangers backline, his shot was a litte scuffed but after his mazy run the ball ended up nestled in the corner of Stefan Klos' goal
6': What a start! Plenty of tackles, and a goal early on. Ferguson, making a return to the ground where he once played, jumped for joy as Neville scored and the crowd lost for something to sing about - for now...
7': Ricksen tees up a shot, but Silvestre blocks
8': Manchester United playing keep ball and frustrating the Gers, who are desperate to restore parity
8': Great back heel from Giggs releases Van Nistelrooy, but the shot which follows is high and wide. Great touch from the Welsh international
9': Gary Neville with a great tackle to prevent Vanoli from getting a shot in after a deep cross - some calls for a penalty but nothing doing as far as the ref is concerned
10': Good defending by Moore under pressure from Van Nistelrooy on the halfway line
11': More slick Untied passing, but the final touch from Giggs is not deft enough and Rangers win it back
12': Another pass to long for Ruud, this time a cross field ball from goalscorer Phil Neville
13': Khizanishvili pounces on a loose pass from Silvestre but his ball is equally errant and Ferdinand clears
13': Ibrox finding its voice again after that horror-show start
13': Vanoli asks for another penalty, but again the ref is not interested
14': Another good call from the ref, who despite the crowd's appeal was not conned by the striker who went down too easily under the tackle
15': Some good movement from Rangers with Arteta and Mols looking useful
16': Averladze and Arteta link up well but the final ball in is deflected out of the way of Lovenkrands - but signs that the Gers are not to be underestimated
17': A deep ball from Berg, the former United player, is too hopeful and is hoiked clear
18': Lovenkrands sees a header go over the bar after a decent first-time cross from Rangers left-back Michael Ball
19': Good spell from Rangers, great probing passes putting United's backline under pressure, Mols and Arteta doing the damage
20': Moore is a little too aggresive and Keane is handed a freekick - a welcome breather for Untied
20': Berg reads Van Nistelrooy perfectly cutting out a loose pass and striding forward in Sweeper style
21': Phil Neville guides in a lovely chipped cross from the right into space - unfortunately his teammates were expecting the near post cross and the chance goes begging
22': Keane in with a superb tackle, snuffing out a pass intended for Ricksen who had just begun a dangerous darting run into space
23': United need to get some time on the ball to frustrate a clearly motivated homeside
23': The Neville brothers link up on the right but Giggs loses posssesion and the Gers break
24': The Rangers quick break results in a decent strike from Lovenkrands low and to the left of Howard's goal - but the big keeper is equal to it
25': It's not very clever stuff from United at the moment. Gary Neville hits a long, hopeful ball to a well marked Van Nistelrooy who fails to hold the pass and Rangers break
26': Luckily for the visitors the Gers fail to get a shot on target
26': Gary Neville concedes a corner
27': The ball is floated in and Gary Neville heads a shot away, but the ball is ricocheting around and ends up with Vanoli who hits his snap shot wide - he should have done better
28': Boos ring out as United finally string a few passes together in the highly competitive midfield
29': Ferdinand passes to Gary Neville who miscontrols the ball into touch - once again the home fans see the funny side!
30': Arveladze and Mols combine well and feed it to Ricksen, but the move breaks down
31': Great tackle from who finds Keane - his balls is not accurate enough for Giggs, but Keane is furious with Giggs
33': Balls, deep in the United half, rides a tackle from Phill Neville, he passes to Mols who crosses deep to Lovenkrands who lashes his shot wide
34': Mols tries the spectacular over head kick, but it is blocked, the ball finds its way to Mols whose goes just wide - a lucky escape for United
35': Scholes and Fortune loose the ball under pressure
35': Howard leaps high to catch a cross aimed at Lovenkrands
36': United use the ball well and its Rangers under pressure
37': Good play from Van Nistelrooy and Fortune, but they loose it and the Gers have it
37': Great shot from Averladze, following a dangerous run down the right which no-one stopped, a shame the effort went over the bar
38': Great tackle from Berg to rob Giggs
39': Fortune stands on Lovenkrands leg after he slid in for a 50-50 - painful but not intentional.
40': Van Nisterooy thinks he's been blocked off and prevented from reaching a Giggs pass - not so say the ref!
41': Vanoli and Arteta exchange passes before a cross reaches Arveladze who is unfortunate to see his volley cannon clear
42': United win a corner - Keane is barracked as he moves to take it
43': Giggs swaps with Keane and fires the ball in and Silvestre heads it on target and would've been a goal but for a goal-line block
44': Van Nistelrooy turns Moore, but all he gets is a corner
45': Shockingly poor corner, not crossed but passed out wide to Phil Neville who is unable to use it
45': Halftime at Ibrox. A great start by United and it is a goal from the less-than-prolific Phil Neville which separates the two. Rangers fought back well after the set back and are unlucky not to be level after good pressure but crucially failed to converted their half-chances.
45': Back underway and an early touch for Howard who launches the ball long
45': Mols gets doubled teamed by Ferdinand and Fortune - a freekick and quite rightly
46': Ricksen tackles Keane in the centre of the park - the Irishman not impressed
47': Berg, Lovenkrnads and Arteta excange some slick passes in a superb move, but it comes to nought
47': Van Nistelrooy at the other end gets is all on his own and is swamped by five defenders and loses the ball
49': Pressure building from United - three Giggs crosses in a row fired in from the left, with each one finding their way back to Giggs
50': Moore intercepts a Gary Neville cross aimed at Van Nistelrooy
50': Great pressure from United early in the half - they are clearly wary of making a sloppy start to the second period as they did against Stuggart
52': Van Nistelrooy latches onto a nice pass from Paul Scholes put his shot from the right on the right hand side of the six yard line is wide - he is rightly disappointed he should have hit the targer
53': United left to rue another chance after a great move including Scholes and Phil Neville
54': Keane fires in a shot which is deflected and drops to Van Nistelrooy but he can't control it - but the flag is up
55': Rangers burst out and win a corner
56': The kick is whipped in and Phil Neville clears it off the line! What a game he's having
56': Mols releases Lovenkrands but fantastic defending from Ferdinand who gets a toe on the ball and deflects the shot out for a corner
58': The corner comes in and Lovenkrands connects with a solid header but Howard is equal to it and saves on the line
59': United now find themselves under the cosh with Rangers showing some fine touches and technique
60': Keane rampages forward and passes wide to Giggs - he crosses in, but Van Nistelrooy is blindsighted by Moore and cannot get a proper header in on goal
61': Ricksen has taken a knock and might need attention
62': Half an hour left and this could still go either way
62': Scholes runs forward, excahnges passes with Gary Neville and then Phil Neville before it is crossed in, but too deep for Van Nistelrooy
63': Ricksen is held off by Ferdinand who just about manages to shepperd the ball back to Howard - but a risky move by Rio, he should have hammered it into row Z
64': Scholes and Keane being afforded a little more space at the moment and they are orchestrating some good pressure from United
65': Moore heads clear from a Giggs cross from the left
66': Rangers' Vanoli is off replaced by sub Nerlinger
67': Keane, O'Shea and Giggs try to work a triangluar pass and move on the left but a stray pass kills the initiative
68': Van Nistelrooy takled on the edge of the box after a good Scholes run - the move started by a cheeky Ferdinand backheel
69': Klos parries a fierce Van Nistelrooy shot - corner ball
70': Arveladze races forward - he's run 40 yards - Lovenkrands darts across him and recieves the ball, but he can't quite wrap his foot around it well enough to get the shot on target - great move though
71': Alex McLeish, the rangers boss, bellows his instructions from the halfway line - can he get his team back level?
72': Silvestre lucky not to concede a penalty for a rash shove-cum-challenge
73': Immeadiately at the other end and there's a call for penalty after Ball challenges Van Nistelrooy as he goes one-on-one with the keeper
73': As the players tussle Paul Scholes fails to check his run and ends up clattering into Klos - earning himself a booking in the process
74': Arteta tries to get past Phil Neville, but a no-nonsense tackle thwarts his progress down the left
75': Fortune adjudged to have fouled Moore. The Gers skipper tried to block Fortune's run but was beaten, luckily for him the linesman flagged for a foul - not the best decision, Fortune unlucky
76': Mols gets clattered by Keane whose tackle goes in a split second late after Mols' quick feet shifted the ball making Keane look stupid. And violent!
77': The freekick is at least 35 yards out but Ball fancies his chances.
77': He runs up but his effort fails to beat the wall
78': Giggs is trying to get his way down the left flank but he is being held up by the waspish Arteta
79': Gigss tries again, but now Khizanishvili makes the tackle
80': Peter Lovenkrands brings the ball down on the left and heads for goal
80': Great shot, but just wide from Lovenkrands. It was low and across Howard's goal but inches wide
81': Ten minutes left - but still plenty of fight left in both teams
82': Berg brings it forward and Arveladze almost gets in between Silvestre and Ferdinand with a neat turn, but its cleared
82': United win a corner
83': Giggs takes, aiming for the big men he finds Silvestre, but he's tackled
83': Van Nistelrooy gets the ball on the right and fires in a shot from a tight angle
83': Khizanishvili seems to have pulled something, possibly his groin, after overstretching to block the Van Nistelrooy shot
84': Khizanishvili is recieving treatment and Phil Neville is down also, he is trying to stretch off a cramp
85': Khizanishvili is off the field who is replaced by Ross and Phil Neville has gone too, he is replaced by Nicky Butt
86': Five minutes left - and Rangers pile forward
86': Howard jumps highest to catch the ball and thwart the Gers attack
87': Giggs chips in a ball to the back post and Van Nistelrooy, who has looked a little clumsy at times, fails to control it and Rangers break
88': Butt fouls Nerlinger and a freekick is the result
89': Arteta whips in the deadball but Gary Neville stoops and gets his head to it first
89': Berg and Nerlinger exchange passes and Howard makes a fantasic save from Nerlinger
90': Ibrox howling the Gers on! Great save from Howard from Nerlinger how costly will that prove to be - 3 added minutes signalled
91': Rangers chasing every ball down as United try and spread it about and keep possession
91': Giggs is fouled and wins a freekick
92': United have it in the Rangers half, right by the corner flag
93': Eric Djemba-Djemba is coming on for Forunte - a pointless change decided only to waste a few seconds
93': Klos instead of sending it long down the pitch rolls it out - what!!!
93': Berg gets caught in possesion and Scholes robs him. He races into the box but is felled from behind by Berg, but the ref says no penalty!!
93': That's it the final whistle and job done for United!
93': What was Klos thinking of? With just seconds left he should have launched it long, but instead got his defenders in trouble and it should have been a goal for Scholes and at least a penalty!
93': Rangers deserved something out of the match, they played with verve and created several openings but in Tim Howard United have a quality keeper. Credit too to Phil Neville who with a rare goal and a fine performance won it for the visitors.

Game Information

Competition: UEFA Champions League

Venue: Ibrox Stadium
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Attendance: 48,730

Line-Ups

Rangers

No.	Name
1	Stefan Klos (GK)
15	Zurab Khizanishvili
25	Henning Berg
3	Craig Moore
18	Michael Ball
2	Fernando Ricksen
16	Paolo Vanoli
23	Mikel Arteta
26	Peter Lovenkrands
7	Shota Arveladze
10	Michael Mols

Rangers Substitutes:

Allan McGregor, Maurice Ross, Moises Emerson, Christian Nerlinger, Stephen Hughes, Egil Ostenstad, Nuno Capucho.

Manchester United

No.	Name
14	Tim Howard (GK)
2	Gary Neville
5	Rio Ferdinand
27	Mikaël Silvestre
22	John O'Shea
3	Phil Neville
16	Roy Keane
18	Paul Scholes
25	Quinton Fortune
11	Ryan Giggs
10	Ruud van Nistelrooy

Manchester United Substitutes:

Roy Carroll, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nicky Butt, Eric Djemba-Djemba, Darren Fletcher, David Bellion, Diego Forlán.

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